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Mrs Laidlaw's husband of 58 years, Tommy, 78, added: "If parents are buying these bikes, they should be charged as well.

"I don’t know how they'll (the police) do it but they've got to do something. It's the people the riders hurt who suffer. I know they've seized a lot of the bikes - but they're still out on them."

Mrs Laidlaw's family believe parents should take more responsibility and not allow children to buy the bikes in the first place (Image: Liverpool Echo)

Merseyside Police has arrested more than 100 people and seized 300 off-road bikes in its recent Operation Brookdale campaign, crushing scramblers found to be ridden illegally.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Critchley said: "We have licensing around areas such as firearms and I believe that, while there is law around on-road bikes, it's too easy to be able to purchase an off-road bike that, in itself, is a weapon.

"I also have concerns about protection of my officers and the law around them being able to make some really tough decisions.